Hello all!
Life has finally returned to normal post vacations.  After Aakash and I finished our Kerala trip, I went to Darjeeling and Sikkim for a few days with some friends.  It was great, but I'll tell you about it another time.  Today I want to tell you about Kerala.

Kerala is the southwestern most state in India and I highly recommend it to anyone.  Aakash and I both agreed that it was the best vacation we've ever taken, and we enjoyed every minute of it.  First, we flew into Kochi and rested for a night.  We stayed at a hotel with hot water and a normal shower and I took three showers in the sixteen hours we were there.  The next day, we took a train to Alleppey (Rs. 30 total- we're big spenders) which is the main launching point for backwater houseboats, a big draw for Keralan tourism.  We didn't book a boat before hand, so we were a bit nervous about finding the right boat and crew for us.  When we got to Alleppey, we had lunch and were talking with our waiter, telling him we were looking for a boat.  He told us to wait and came back in less than two minutes with an english speaker who owned two boats.  He took us to a small side dock and said his boat would be there in fifteen minutes.  Surprisingly enough, in fifteen or twenty minutes, a boat did come!  And it was beautiful.  The houseboat was crafted with thin pieces of wood and rope- no nails are used to hold these boats together.  I was particularly excited because above the boat's wheel was an upper deck to sit on.  We were sold.  The boat also had a nice sitting area on the main deck with a dining table and tv (although we didn't use the tv), a bedroom with a comfy bed and bath with running water, and a kitchen in the back.  We hired the boat for two nights and embarked on a gorgeous, relaxing, incredible experience.

The boat had three crew members who cooked and drove.  For every meal, we would park outside some beautiful rice field or other exquisite view.  After eating, we could walk around the neighborhood we parked at.  I enjoyed exploring the path, houses, and people doing daily chores and tasks.  In the evening, we joined a large convoy of houseboats and headed to a small town to park outside the house of one of the crew members.  It was an incredible area because the main road was a river lined with houses and a small walking path.  We explored the path both ways and, in addition to passing numerous houses and fields, we also passed a few schools and shops.  

The second day on the houseboat was one of the best days of the trip.  We requested prawns (shrimp) for lunch, so we went to the market and bought a few that were literally bigger than my head.  Seriously.  We bought a little over one kilo, which mean four giant tiger prawns (0.9 kilos total) and one "smaller" prawn.  Lunch that day was honestly one of the best meals we've ever eaten.  The prawns were skillet fried to perfection, and they prepared this delicious "vegetable" curry, although it contained banana, pineapple, and tomatoes.  I asked for the recipe and am looking forward to trying it myself.  The entire meal was served on a huge banana leaf, freshly plucked from a nearby tree.

After the houseboat, we drove five hours to Thekkady.  This is where we entered Kerala's mountains.  We stayed at a really incredible loft hotel in Thekkady, but more importantly, Thekkady is where we visited Elephant Junction!  The first thing we did was climb aboard Rempa, a female elephant with a hole in one ear.  (We asked why she had such a giant hole in her ear, but apparently they got her like that.  Then again, I have a hole in my ear, so who am I to judge.)  Rempa gave us an hour long ride through an elephant trail in the forest.  It was a surprisingly comfortable ride.  After we had a chai break, we visited another elephant, Lakshmi.  Lakshmi was lying in a large elephant bath and we were able to help wash her.  This was Aakash's favorite part- he really enjoyed feeling her rough skin and thick, wirey hair.  My favorite part came next- after washing her, we got to climb onto her bare back and she gave US a shower.  She put her trunk into a pool of water, then whipped it over her head, soaking us with water.  I went first and I wasn't sure what to expect, but Lakshmi really sprayed me.  I must admit, it was the best water pressure I've felt since moving to India.

The first day, we visited a tea factory.  Aakash was in tea heaven, and even I was surprisingly impressed with how complex tea making is.  We walked around the city for a bit and took an auto to a look out point in the mountains.  We ended up meeting a guy who leads treks (hikes) in the mountains, and we booked him for the next day.  Our trek was incredible.  We hiked for five hours, starting at our guide's family property.  Our first special surprise occurred when we came upon a tree house- the most legit tree house I've ever seen.  We were able to go inside for a chai break (double score!) and rest for a bit.  Our guide explained that they hired local tribesmen to build the tree house and it's main purpose is to give them an escape if elephants come by.  Because if elephants are tramping around, you need to get out of their way!  Throughout our entire hike, he kept pointing out completely demolished plants, flippantly telling us that elephants had destroyed it.  Totally wild.  We hiked to the top of a mountain with two huge rocks on the top, which gave us a perfect view of the tallest mountain in Kerala.  The weather was perfect and I was really happy to be in the sunshine after months of smoggy, polluted Kolkata.  After our mountain top lunch, we hiked back through a beautiful, green tea plantation.  

I can't fully express how peaceful, fresh, and beautiful Kerala was.  It was so green, lush, and full of friendly people.  It was more expensive then anywhere else I've been to in India, partially because it's such a huge tourist destination, but Kerala has definitely figured out positive ways to earn money.  Everyone in Kerala was clean and healthy looking (a drastic contrast to much of Kolkata) and everyone was friendly and easy to communicate with.  (Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India- over 90% educated.)  Kerala is also highly Christian (39% Christian, 41% Hindu, 20% Muslim) and it was really interesting to see Indian takes on Christianity.  There were small Christian mandirs, or shrines, all over, and I hadn't seen that before.  When I found out we were coming to India, Kerala was the number one place I wanted to go, and I have no regrets from that trip.  It was just the relaxing, rejuvenating, adventure packed vacation I had wanted, and I'm really grateful Aakash and I were able to do it together.

Anyways, I'm back to work now and Aakash is at a lesson.  I hope this email finds you well and I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,
Jayanthi

Hello everyone!  Aakash and I have been on vacation for over a week now and so much has happened.  Today specifically was really notable and memorable, but for the sake of my desire to be chronological, I’ll start at the beginning.

On the fifth, we left Kolkata for Hyderabad.  We arrived late at night and Emuu and Pranu were kind enough to pick us up.  They’d be staying with Indu for a few days and it was nice to see them all again.  The next morning, we woke up early and rode with Ajay and family to Dornakal.  Dornakal is the village about five hours outside of Hyderabad that my dad’s parents lived in from my dad’s early adulthood on.  When I was little, Dornakal was the main place we would stay, but I hadn’t been there for fifteen years.  February 7th was the one year anniversary of the death of my Peddanaanna (father’s older brother) and to celebrate, his kids organized a function at the school where was headmaster.  The drive to Dornakal was long, bumpy, and mostly beautiful.  But unfortunately I got really sick that day, probably partially because of Ajay’s crazy driving.  We made it to Dornakal just in time to be stopped at the train crossing for ten minutes to wait for a cargo train to drive by.  Dornakal is a small dot on the map and only exists because of the train junction, so it was very apropos that we were stopped at the crossing.  It was virtually exactly how I remember it, but even more run down (which is saying something because it was run down to begin with.)  The train left and we crossed the tracks just in time for me to get out and vomit.  (Too many details perhaps, but I have many memories of being sick in Dornakal, so that too seemed familiar.) 

Anyways, being sick on the first day was too bad because we specifically left with Ajay because I wanted to spend as much time walking around and exploring as I could.  Once we crossed the tracks, we drove straight past the Dornakal cathedral to the boys hostel where we were staying.  Aakash and I had the exact same room I stayed at on our previous trips. Poor Aakash, I don’t think he was at all prepared for the full Dornakal experience.  We pulled in and were immediately inundated with the bravest of the boys who, though they did carry all of our luggage for us, continued to knock on our door and peek through our windows until we closed everything.  The room was exactly as I remember it, although they may have added a third cot to the no longer double bed.  The bathroom had the same disgustingly grungy tile, the water faucet leaked into the waist high tub of water, and I believe it was the same toilet, although I didn’t recall it not being able to flush.  Ah the rugged Indian life.  After getting some of my sickness out by the tracks, I was feeling better, so we went on a short walk past the cathedral and through the compound our house was in.  But the last time I was in Dornakal, I was twelve, so although I THOUGHT it was the compound, I wasn’t quite sure.  There was a water pump in the middle of the compound and, as my aunts who visited a few years back told me, the house yard was completely changed, so I wasn’t able to tell which house was ours.  We then walked past the guesthouse that I remember twelve goat heads lined outside of for Indu’s wedding and towards some other buildings.  We ended up walking into a school for the deaf and getting a tour by the headmistress.  She asked us why we were in Dornakal and in addition to remembering Dad, I found out she was a student of Peddanaanna’s! 

I started feeling ill again, so we went back to the hostel to rest.  I was feeling really awful at this point and ended up puking again.  I only tell you this because not long after I finished, I heard Akkil, Ajay’s son, making a similar sound over and over outside of the door.  I was (rightly) mad at his insensitivity and crudeness.  I couldn’t believe he was making fun of me like that.  Then, Aakash came in and I found out it wasn’t anyone making fun of me, but they had just bought the biggest sheep at the market for lunch the next day and were keeping it outside of the door.  The poor thing was tied up in the hostel hallway and it was bleating its head off! 

I spent the rest of the night in bed and Aakash spent the evening getting to know my male cousins. It seems they took good care of him.  The next day, I woke up feeling much better and after eating a few garas and showering with the water someone heated in a big pot over a fire in the hostel courtyard, I walked to Peddanaanna’s old school to see how the cooking was coming along.  Our sheep friend had met his death early that morning, but neither of us were willing to get up to watch.  I spent the first hour meeting people who remembered me as a child, and when Aakash arrived, we piled into a car with Indu, her kids, and Peddamma, and drove to the cemetery.  The ride was a bit of a riot, because neither Indu or Peddamma were certain of how to get there, but we finally found the way.  Dornakal is where both of my Abba and Jeji (Grandpa and Grandma) were buried as well as my dad’s sister Mary.  Pranu and her kids came too.  It had been a long time since I had been in that cemetery but it felt special to go.  Afterwards, we piled into the vehicles again and went to visit the ancestral home, as Aakash calls it. 

After that, we got ready for the function and headed to the school.  There were almost one hundred people there and it seemed to be a success.  I say seemed because although at least a dozen people spoke about Pethanana, only one person spoke in English, so I really have no idea what anyone was saying.  At one point, because in true India fashion it started almost an hour and a half late, we left to get a snack and Aakash and I visited the Dornakal Cathedral, which is where my parents were married.  It is a very simple cathedral, but it was very special to visit there again after all these years. 

After the function, we ate, packed our things, and headed to the train station.  Aakash and I walked, crossing the bridge over the tracks.  There were dozens and dozens of monkeys, just as I remember.  I was a bit bummed that since I was sick the previous day, we didn’t get a chance to walk around the bazaar, but the train turned out to be an hour late, so we end up having time to walk around a bit.  The train home was uneventful, especially because Sanchu and Theron (Pranu’s older kids) all went home with Indu in their car, so it was very peaceful. 

Hello!

My life has been packed full of adventure lately.  This weekend I went
on a trip with some friends to Sagar Island, the most south west point
of West Bengal, which is also a religious spot for some Hindus.  As
usual, I went with Matt and Alec, but this time, our friends Lily and
Julene joined.  The island was supposedly four hours away, and getting
there was definitely a trip.

After maybe an hour on the bus, we then boarded a van.  I don't mean whatever van you're picturing in your head, I mean a two-wheeled flatbed maybe four by five feet that's pulled by the front half of a motorcycle.  Of course. However, the five of us rented the entire van, so we had room to spread out and enjoy the wind in our hair and passing scenery.  The van then dropped us off at the ferry.

The ferry was definitely a highlight of the trip.  Not only was the ride at least 45 minutes, the amount of seagulls flying around the boat was in the hundreds at least.  They started flying around in and out of the ferry's wind. Literally hundreds of seagulls started completely circling the boat, calling out, and diving/fighting each other.  There were men on the ferry selling bags of food to toss to the birds and seeing them fly around, diving and catching food was spectacular.  On the way back, we bought some food ourselves and it was really fun to throw what I can only describe as similar to the cereal corn pops in the air, and watch a seagull swoop up from below and catch it in it's beak.  It was incredible to watch.

We finally arrived at our destination, only to find that the hotel we were planning on staying at was closed.  Luckily, we found a cheaper place quickly.  With the sun fading fast, we put our things in the hotel, and took the car to the island lighthouse to watch the sunset. Obviously we got to Lighthouse Rd. and found that the lighthouse had been unstable and had crumbled years before.  But the sunset over the ocean was gorgeous in itself and we didn't need a lighthouse (although one would think the island would need a lighthouse...)  That night,
after a delicious dinner, at least thirty dab, and hanging out in the hotel, Alec and I decided it was too awesome to leave the next day, and since we were free on Monday, we made plans to stay another night.

After breakfast, we all went to the beach briefly.  Lily, Julene, and Matt dropped Alec and I off at the hotel and we had the rest of the day to walk around.  We walked back to the beach and watched sand crabs, played in the water, and drew in the sand. It was absolutely gorgeous out and I was astonished by how flat and empty the land was. On the horizon, we were able to see detailed outlines of people
thousands of meters away. Because we had a car and driver the first day, it wasn't until the second day that we really walked around where we were staying.  Again, there was only one paved road, so it was impossible to get lost.  Plus, the whole town probably knew where the only videshis (foreigners) in town were staying if we had to ask
anyone.

Aakash is doing well.  While I was on Sagar Island, he spent four
nights at an all night Hindustani music festival (7pm-7am) and he
seems very inspired and energized from the weekend.  My work is as
chaotic as ever, but I'm enjoying starting to work with students for
The Wizard of Oz.  Next week, Aakash and I will go to Hyderabad,
Dornakal, and both northern and southern parts of Kerela.  I'm looking
to spending some time away together.  Eventually I'll put more photos
of Sagar Island on my website, so check it out.  But no promises as to
how soon it will happen.  I hope that you're enjoying whatever you're
currently keeping busy with.  Know I love you and think of each of you
often.

Love,
Jayanthi